In December 2019, the Chinese government had agreed to purchase electricity produced in Nepal. China even signed an agreement to purchase electricity from Nepal after the Nepal-China cross-border transmission line was completed.

However, one year later, progress of the Ratmate-Rasuwagadhi-Kerung 400 KV inter-country transmission line has been delayed. A meeting between the officials of the two countries could not be held despite an initial date fixed for September 2020. The delay has happened due to the coronavirus epidemic.

The 400-KV project is the first cross-border transmission line that Nepal would have built with China. The project would also have meant that Nepal would be ready to sell electricity to Bangladesh. "The expected progress has been delayed due to the epidemic," said Komal Nath Atreya, chief of the Ratmate-Rasuwagadhi-Kerung 400 KV transmission line project. He adds that a new date is likely to be fixed though it is likely to be held online.

Although the two countries have agreed to build an interstate transmission line, Nepal is vacillating on the project. Nepal had signed an agreement on its first transmission line with China during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Kathmandu in October 2019. This would have been its first cross-border transmission line with China, while it already has 11 similar lines with India.